refactor: os paper voice — first-person consistent, remove \"we\" and \"this paper\" frames

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arxiv-os

os.tex

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papers/arxiv-os/os.tex

··· 190 190 191 191 \begin{quote} 192 192 \small\noindent\textbf{Abstract.} 193 - We present \acos{}, a bare-metal Linux operating system that boots any x86\_64 computer directly into a creative computing instrument in 7.3 seconds. The entire system---a custom kernel, an 11,943-line C runtime running as PID~1, and a QuickJS JavaScript engine---fits in a single 89\,MB UEFI binary with no userspace, no package manager, and no desktop environment. The OS introduces a model of \emph{device-level personalization}: each machine boots with the owner's handle, custom color scheme, and a spoken greeting, making identity a property of the operating system rather than of an application layer. We argue that flashing this OS onto surplus commodity laptops---retired ThinkPads, off-lease corporate machines, unsold inventory---creates a viable alternative to both the OLPC model of bespoke educational hardware and the Apple model of identity-through-commercial-ecosystem. Where OLPC designed a \$100 laptop that cost \$200, and Apple sells a \$1{,}000 identity that requires a \$1{,}000 device, \acos{} turns a \$50 surplus machine into a personal creative instrument with over-the-air updates, no IT infrastructure, and no ongoing cost. We describe the architecture, the personalization model, the OTA update system, and the implications for creative computing access. 193 + I present \acos{}, a bare-metal Linux operating system that boots any x86\_64 computer directly into a creative computing instrument in 7.3 seconds. The entire system---a custom kernel, an 11,943-line C runtime running as PID~1, and a QuickJS JavaScript engine---fits in a single 89\,MB UEFI binary with no userspace, no package manager, and no desktop environment. The OS introduces a model of \emph{device-level personalization}: each machine boots with the owner's handle, custom color scheme, and a spoken greeting, making identity a property of the operating system rather than of an application layer. Flashing this OS onto surplus commodity laptops---retired ThinkPads, off-lease corporate machines, unsold inventory---creates a viable alternative to both the OLPC model of bespoke educational hardware and the Apple model of identity-through-commercial-ecosystem. Where OLPC designed a \$100 laptop that cost \$200, and Apple sells a \$1{,}000 identity that requires a \$1{,}000 device, \acos{} turns a \$50 surplus machine into a personal creative instrument with over-the-air updates, no IT infrastructure, and no ongoing cost. I describe the architecture, the personalization model, the OTA update system, and the implications for creative computing access. 194 194 \end{quote} 195 195 \vspace{0.5em} 196 196 }] ··· 203 203 204 204 Meanwhile, the consumer computing market produces a constant surplus of functional machines. Corporate lease cycles retire millions of laptops every 3--5 years. Retail overstocks, cancelled orders, and cosmetic defects generate warehouse inventories. E-waste recyclers receive machines with years of useful life remaining. These surplus computers---ThinkPads, EliteBooks, Latitudes---are available for \$30--80 with modern processors, 8--16\,GB RAM, WiFi, keyboards, and screens. 205 205 206 - \acos{} takes the opposite approach from OLPC: instead of designing custom hardware, we design a custom operating system that transforms \emph{any} commodity x86\_64 machine into a dedicated creative computing instrument. The entire OS is a single file. Flashing it onto a USB drive takes under a minute. The machine boots in 7.3 seconds into a musical instrument, a drawing tool, or a programming environment---with the owner's name on the screen and their voice greeting them by name. 206 + \acos{} takes the opposite approach from OLPC: instead of designing custom hardware, I design a custom operating system that transforms \emph{any} commodity x86\_64 machine into a dedicated creative computing instrument. The entire OS is a single file. Flashing it onto a USB drive takes under a minute. The machine boots in 7.3 seconds into a musical instrument, a drawing tool, or a programming environment---with the owner's name on the screen and their voice greeting them by name. 207 207 208 - This paper describes the system architecture~(\S\ref{sec:architecture}), the personalization model~(\S\ref{sec:personalization}), the surplus hardware thesis~(\S\ref{sec:surplus}), the OTA update system~(\S\ref{sec:ota}), comparisons with existing approaches~(\S\ref{sec:related}), and implications for creative computing access~(\S\ref{sec:implications}). 208 + I describe the system architecture~(\S\ref{sec:architecture}), the personalization model~(\S\ref{sec:personalization}), the surplus hardware thesis~(\S\ref{sec:surplus}), the OTA update system~(\S\ref{sec:ota}), comparisons with existing approaches~(\S\ref{sec:related}), and implications for creative computing access~(\S\ref{sec:implications}). 209 209 210 210 % ============ 2. ARCHITECTURE ============ 211 211

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